THEY COME BY THE THOUSANDS…….to see the amazing works of architecture.  The interest in the ‘place’ is huge.  The interest in Him doesn’t match.  Are we still trying to attract people to the ‘place’ or the ‘event’ rather than the Man?  I think so.  I challenge all of you to get my book “Are You Trying to Sell Church or Are  You Training Disciples How to Share Jesus?”  You can get it on Kindle or order it at JohnHendee.com

I have been doing a lot of reading.  I have been listening closely to what is being preached.  And I have come to the conclusion that most preachers today have redefined “Witnessing”.  Here is a summary of what I hear and read being taught and preached.
GO (I agree, we need to Go to those around us and beyond).
LOVE (Who wouldn’t agree with that?)
LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE  (I’m still with you here.)
DO GOOD FOR THOSE IN NEED  (You still haven’t lost me.)
SHARE YOUR STORY (Now we are on a slippery slope.  Where are we told or commanded to tell OUR story?  We are commanded to share HIS story. There is a lot more I could say about this but I’ll leave it at that for now.)
And then the clincher is:
INVITE THEM TO SERVICES, GROUPS OR EVENTS PLANNED BY THE LOCAL CHURCH.(Bring them to the Place, the Event or the Preacher.  Why do we do this?  Because we ARE NOT training and preparing our people how to share HIS STORY with those they know outside of the Kingdom.  It is tragic.  While the location, some events, and preachers have their place, we will never reach most of the world with the NEW definition of witnessing. 
If you want to learn how to Share Jesus with those you know in a calm, kind, relational method, not forcing it on people or having to invite them to church first,  I invite you to take my 8 week online course through Hope International University.  The next class will be in October.  If you are interested in taking it (why not with a small group from your congregation) write Phil Towne at pbtowne@hiu.edu